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^ 7%^£ */ Sheep— Pecos Valley. 




Flowing Artesian Well— Pecos Valley. 



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10 1905 










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Packing Apples. 

Wha^t a.n Eastern Matn Thinks of 
the Pecos Valley of New Mexico. 



BY HENRY HALL 

Reprint from Pittsburgh (Pa.) Times 



Carlsbad, N. M., May 13. — "This is God's own country. 
There isn't in all the United States a better section than 
the Pecos valley. It is the garden spot." 

This is the enthusiastic statement made by "Jerry" 
Simpson, the erstwhile "Sockless statesman of Medicine 
Lodge," but now a citizen of Roswell, N. M., as he and 
The Times correspondent renewed the acquaintance formed 
in Washington when Mr. Simpson, the ablest Populist ever 
sent to Congress, was in the House, holding the earnest 
attention of that body by speeches, eloquent, rhetorically 
accurate and thoroughly logical in argument, from the 
premises he took. 

"Now don't you rush through here at night," contin- 
ued Mr. Simpson, "without even getting off the train to 
look at what we have, but go out over this section and see 
what we have done and are now doing. That will prove 
the truth of what I have told you. Roswell is the center 
of the irrigated district of New Mexico. Around here are 
40.000 acres of irrigated land and there is a tract 00 miles 
long and 12 wide that is capable of being irrigated. Aside 
from this there are uncounted acres that can be irrigated 
by artesian wells, of which we have hundreds flowing from 
1,000 to 2,000 gallons a minute and which are inexhaustible. | 
We have a town here with a population of nearly 5,000, in 
a section that can sustain 100.000 more, and which last 
year shipped 2.000.000 oounds of wool and more fruit than 
any other t and in its express 

business st TMP96 — 0074-21 district, which in- 
cludes the ». , Ft. Worth and El 
Paso, the receipts being in excess of $40,000 per month." 




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to the Pecos Valley 

ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY. 
HOMA AND TEXAS. 



EXCURSIONS 



^ch Month at Reduced Rates. 



SEE FOR YOURSELF 



is made to order- waiter on crops when &nd where 
the Pecos Valley. 



>NR,AD 

ecos Valley Lines 
, Texas 



W. S. KEENAN 

Gen. Pass. Agt. G. C. <£. S. F. Ry. 

Galveston, Texas. 



McFarland, Shumway & Armstrong Co., Printers, Chicago. 



Irrigation Unknown in Ea.st. 

Following "Jerry's" advise, The Times correspondent 
in.nl.- a somewhat thorough investigation of the country 
and ils development, riding through the irrigated districts 
around Roswell and Carlsbad by journeys which aggregated 
pi rhaps 100 miles and studying the irrigation systems in 
operation from their very sources to where they poured the 
water upon the land and made it rich with varied products. 

To the Eastener, living in regions where the rains are 

id lant and drouths a rarity, irrigation, as it is practiced 

here, is a sealed book. He has doubtless read that a bill 
passed Congress devoting the proceeds of the sales of 
public' Kinds to tin; irrigation of the arid sections of the 
Western States and Territories. Hut, beyond a superficial, 
oral the most, a merely academic knowledge of the subject, 
In- has usually nol gone, 

"The blood is the life," was said in the olden time, and, 
looking upon the great plains and valleys of the South- 
west, the iiutli becomes apparent that there "the water is 
the life," so far as their productiveness and usefulness to 
men are concerned, The traveler oul here journeys for 
hundreds oi miles through regions which seem almost de- 
serts, which are deserts, in fact, and which, until a com- 
parative!) i < ■< i 1 1 1 period, figured on the map of the 
i nited States as the "Greal American Desert." 

Making the Desert Bloom. 

For miles and miles no human habitation is visible. 

The vasl stretches ol ntry are solitudes, save for the 

presence of the herds of cattle, and, in some sections, flocks 
of sheep, which pasture upon them, True, there are vast 
grazing areas, the grass in some places luxuriant, in others 
icanty, but there are tracts hundreds of miles in extent cov- 
ered only by mesquite bushes, greasewood, soapwood, cat- 
| law mill many vat ieties ol cacti, some rising to a height ol 

live 01 six feel and crowned by a big cluslei ol yellowish- 

whjte blossoms. I <> one at i ustomed to the hilly or rolling 
lands "I I vmr.t Ivania 01 I )hio, or the more regular lands of 
Indiana and Illinois, with their carefully cultivated farms, 
patches of woodland and comfortable homes, the prospect 
1 ' '" < desolate in the extreme, and he cannot but feel sor-r 
'"» 'hal so greal .1 part of Uncle Sam's mighty domain 
must forevei remain live from the touch ol the plow and 
the ear.' nl the husbandman. 

Then, the transition being so sudden that it almost be- 
wilders one, the train will enter an irrigated section, and, 

the hue ol demarcation being ofteu nothing more than a 
barbed wire fence, there flash upon the view trees, tall 1 ol 
tonwoods and bending willows, farms, orchards, gardens 
""' ne 'ds, rich with .1 vegetation more luxuriant and pro 
ductive than that ol even the most vaunted agricultural 
section* oi the East. The deserl has vanished, desolation 
has been dethroned, yielding place to Ceres emptying her 

' "' Plentyupon ..smiling land. Let no one ignorant 

"I whal irrigation can do, think this an extravagant or un- 
founded statement, lis prool can be Found everywhere in 



the West where irrigation is at all practicable. And all 
throughout this section, individual and corporate enterprise, 
soon to be supplemented by the efforts of the National gov- 
ernment, is at work at the task of making the desert fruit- 
ful and beautiful. 

Pecos Valley Towns Flourish. 

Less than 20 years ago the site of Roswell was a cattle 
range, that of Carlsbad, 75 miles farther down the Pecos 
River, little more than a sand patch, To-day they are 
handsome towns of 4,000 and 2,000 population respectively 
and the centers of irrigated sections wherein lands are of 
great value, considering what they were but a few years 
ago. Irrigation has been the magic wand which has called 
them into being and prosperity. The cultivated country 
around both towns is beautiful in the extreme. Cotton- 
wood and willow trees, both of them having an extraordi- 
narily rapid growth here, have been planted, not only along 
the streets of the towns, but also along practically every 
foot of the irrigating ditches, with the result that in every 
direction there are long avenues lined with tall trees, their 
branches meeting overhead. "Lovers Lane," just outside 
Roswell, is a long vista of over-arching trees even more 
beautiful than that famous walk of the same name in Cen- 
tral Park, New York. There is another road lined with 
drooping willows, the pendant branches reaching down al- 
most to the earth. Along at their feet run the irrigating 
ditches, filled with clear water, from which the streams are 
turned, as occasion requires, upon the orchards, gardens 
and fields of alfalfa and katfir corn. 

There are three systems of irrigation in this section of 
the Pecos Valley. Two of them are in use in the Roswell 
district. The first, and more extensive, is by the water 
which gushes from the great South and North springs 
nearby, yielding an inexhaustible supply and sufficient to 
irrigate possibly 40,000 acres of land. The water is con- 
ducted by big ditches for miles down the valley and thence 
by the smaller ones, or laterals, to the fields and orchards. 
Many of the land owners own the water right and keep the 
main ditch in repair. In other cases a perpetual water 
right is sold with the land, which gives each acre enough 
water to cover it to a depth of 30 inches at a cost of $1.25 
per acre per year. 

Irrigation by Wells. 

The second source of irrigation is by artesian wells 
and has come into use comparatively recently. Ii is claimed 
that the terrritory in which these wells can be lound is 00 
miles long by 15 wide, and the water is reached at depths 
ranging from 350 to 800 feet. The quantity flowing from 
some of these wells is surprising and makes them of great 
importance and value. The writer saw a number of them 
pouring forth streams the daily quantity of which, in each 
case, aggregated over 1,000,000 gallons. On the Hamilton 
stock farm there are two wells, one from a depth of 280 
feet throwing through an eight-inch pipe 1,000 gallons per 
minute. On the Hagerman ranch there are five wells about 



.'550 feet deep and flowing from 800 to 1,200 gallons. Ou 
another Hagerman property, farther down the valley, a 
well 1,000 feet deep flows 1.800 gallons every sixtieth part 
of an hour The water is so pure and clear that people 
come from miles around to get it. There are over 80 of 
these wells in Roswell, some with flows even larger than 
those mentioned. All of the artesian wells do not flow, 
however, the question of the level of the great springs 
above mentioned having to do with it, and in that case 
pumps run by windmills or gasoline engines are used. 
These artesian wells irrigate small farms and orchards gen- 
erally off the line of the irrigating ditches and are open- 
ing up considerable territory. It is significant ol the 
faith of the people in the possibilities of irrigation in this 
valley that whenever an artesian well is brought in there 
is an immediate rush for lands in that neighborhood. 
Towns have come into being merely because a good well 
had been struck at their site, something reminiscent of the 
oil country. 

The Irrigation System. 

Down at Carlsbad irrigation is followed upon a large 
scale. In his report for li)01 Gov. Otero said: "The great 
Pecos Valley irrigation system, taken as a whole, is beyond 
all question the 'largest in America, and the immense sums 
expended on it make it the most complete as well. In Eddy 
County there are two large artificial lakes, covering a sup 
erficial area of some 10,000 acres, with a capacity of 100,- 
000 acre-feet; that is to say, holding sufficient water to place 
one foot of water on 100,000 acres of land. There are now 
in operation 40 miles of canals and main laterals. The an- 
nual water rent is $1.25 per acre, said to be the smallest fee 
for similar service in the United States." 

This system, upon which over $2,000,000 has been ex- 
pended, obtains its water by damming the Pecos river, 
there being two dams about 10 miles apart. The upper one 
backs water 14 miles and the lower 6 miles. From this 
lower dam which is about 1,400 feet long, the writer followed 
the main canal down to where it divides, one branch being 
carried over the Pecos river by a massive concrete aque- 
duct just completed at a cost of about $50 000. This aque- 
duct is nearly 500 feet long, with four 100-foot arches rising 
25 feet above the bed of the river. The canals and laterals 
cover an irrigable territory of perhaps 100,000 acres of 
which about 25,000 acres are in farms running from 80 to 
800 acres. There are more 40 acre farms than of the 
others, and very few below that size. If the owner farms 
general crops he usually finds that with 40 acres he has all 
he wants to do. For fruit farms it is held that 10 acres 
is enough. 

In a previous article the peach and other fruit farms 
at Carlsbad have been described. Alfalfa, kaffir corn and 
milo maize are the three principal agricultural crops. Al- 
falfa is cut about four times in a season, and a good average 
on the large farms is three-fourths of a ton per acre per 
cutting, or three tons per year. It is irrigated at least once 
or twice between cuttings, or from six to ten times a year. 



.... u«ua .in |M>ii»ra consiaeraoiy during the winter 
Alfalfa comes to maturity in three yens, and never needs 

replanting. It was stated tlt.it there are fields in the v iltev 

20 years old which yield just as well new as when thej 
first reached maturity, Kaffir corn and milo mai te are us 
ually irrigated twice, once foi plowing and again later in 

the season. It is claimed that kaffir corn inns from one 

and one-quarter to two tons ol grain in the head, which 

sin inks about -t> p-" cent in the threshing, to the acre, while 

the fodder will ma three tons. Fed in the shock, killi. 
coin is su.l te be .1 pel teeth balanced ration ol grain and 
foi ' . . ["he grain in the head sells lor $S per ton, genei alb 

although last year il brought $10. The image is worth $H 

a ton. Alfalfa ranges lioni s7 to $10 a ton. 

Government Lending a Hand. 

Wheal "ii-, rye and barley can be grown, but there 
are no mills, and no local market, except for oats Cotton 

has also been raised, and it is claimed 10 be a good crop 

I'll.- fruit industry need noi be agam referred to, and melons 
canteloupes and sweel potatoes, celery, asparagus, and, in 
fact, nearly all kinds ol vegetables do exceedingly well. 



These are but a lew nl the results, and b 
into, of irrigation in the Pecos valley, I 'hey 
the people have done lluin eb e . Lev. ii d the « 

United States is now prepai ing to take n hand 
engineers are looking up reservoii tiles, one ne 
the headwaters ol the Hondo river, and two oiheu u 
ent parts of the valley, Pending this work, large tracts ol 
land have been withdrawn from the operations ol the land 

laws I'hoiigh the present irrig ited disti id ■ m pitifully 

■nidi compared to the vasl expanses : irid them which 

the water has noi reached, ami in too many eases, never 

can, they still show the possibilities and i tl the way to a 

development which none can fully appreci ite until I 
through this counti | and sees ou one hand the dei 

right amidst its desolation, like the oases in Sain 

heli Is and orchards, the long avenues ol tall trees, the teem 



eilv gone 

low what 
k The 

l il. lis 

here on 

a 



ide 
III. I 

the 



ing ditches and flowing wells which make this whal "Jerry 1 
Simpson calls "The garden spot ol die United Slates." 

1 1 bnry Hall, 




Scene on Slaughter Ram h /'■ 




Intensive Cultivation in ih<- Pecoi Valley 
Apples, Alfalfa and Sheep. 




Swine Peeos Valley 



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Take the Sarvta Fe to the Pecos Valley 

DIRECT LINE FROM CHICAGO. ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY. 
ALSO FROM OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS. 



HOMESEEKERS' EXCURSIONS 



First and Third Tuesdays of each Morvth at Reduced Rates. 



COME OUT NOW AND SEE FOR YOURSELF 



If you wish to learn more about this place, where rain is made to order water on crops when rvnd where 
wanted ask for free copies of illustrated pamphlet about the Peco< Valley. 

W. J. BLACK A. L. CONR.AD 

Gen. Pass. Agt. A. T <S. S. F. R.y. Traffic Manager Pecos Valley Lines 

Topeka, Kan. and Chicago Amarillo. Texas 



W. S. KEENAN 

Gen. Pass. Atft. G. C. <S. S. F. Ry. 

Galve9ton. fexas 



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C^ 



What an 
Eastern Man 
Xhinks of the 
Pecos Valley 



4 & 

Santa Fe 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




